Boran

Facts about Boran
The Boran belongs to the East African Shorthorned Zebu type and is raised primarily for meat production.

Breeding Aim
Boran cattle have developed adaptive traits of crucial importance for their survival. Some of these characters are – the ability to withstand periodic shortage of water and feed, ability to walk long distances in search of water and feed and ability to digest low quality feeds. The herd instinct of the Boran makes it easy to manage and survive in bush country.

History of the Boran
The Boran developed in eastern Africa, more specifically the Borana plateau in southern Ethiopia. As far as can be determined this is the only breed in Africa to have this specific combination of genes. The Boran is not a synthetic or compound breed that have been crossbred in the last few decades. It has been bred as a pure breed for 1300 years. The importance of this to the commercial breeder is that the Boran will have much stronger hybrid vigour than modern compound breeds.

Characteristic
The Boran is medium in size with a short head, small ears, loose dewlap and a large hump above the shoulders. They can be horned or polled. They vary in height from 114 cm to 147 cm tall, and in weight bulls weigh approximately 500 kg to 850 kg. Cows weigh about 380 kg to 450 kg.